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I may chat about my books, what I'm writing or reading, or just general thoughts. You may read posts about my cats or just my crazy life in general. Comments are welcome, if anyone wants to interact with me. Maybe we can share war stories, whether it's writing related or just about life in general.

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Altitude and Ear Issues

I’ve always had issues with flying and ear pain. In fact, this situation was so bad at one
time that I didn’t fly again for twenty years.
I wasn’t only embarrassed and extremely sick, but I was on a business
trip to a conference at the time when I worked for a big company years ago.

My ears ached so bad I wanted to scream. Nothing I did would unstop them. Imagine someone digging around in your ear
with an ice pick. To add to this, I was
so dizzy I couldn’t walk. The dizziness
caused severe nausea. Could things get
any worse?

I went to the initial meeting and could hardly sit there in
the conference room. We broke for lunch
and I stumbled around as if I’d been drinking.
I have no idea what my boss must have thought after paying for my
airfare and room. I couldn’t eat
anything. Someone helped me to the elevator because I simply couldn’t walk
there on my own and make it back to my room.

That was the most miserable four days of my life. I didn’t attend any of the conference, had to
sleep sitting up propped against the headboard because I was too nauseous to
lie down. I spent quite a bit of time in
the bathroom throwing up.

Altimeter

The last thing I wanted to do was get on another
airplane. I didn’t look forward to the
flight home, but that was the only way home.
So dizzy and with stopped up painful ears, someone helped me board. The barf bag was my best friend on that
four-hour flight. I was so glad to touch
down and swore I’d never fly again. It
took about two weeks for my ears to finally pop.

When we had a cabin in the mountains many years later, I had
the same ear problem driving there and back, minus the nausea. I think I’m not one to live in high
altitudes, or even visit them for prolonged periods.

Finally, I took the plunge again about four years ago when
my nephew passed away unexpectedly. The
only way to get to Texas
quick was to fly and my sister needed me.
So I was determined to make it somehow and hoped I could be of use once
I got there and wouldn’t be too sick.

Well, guess what? I
made it and it wasn’t as gruesome. My
ears were stopped up and painful, but it subsided after a while. I did take an allergy pill and had my nasal
spray too. The secret was buying a large
orange juice after I got through security.
I nursed that all the way to Houston
and it helped to swallow little sips for that three-plus hour flight.

I was ecstatic that I found a way to fly again.

Do any of you suffer from this problem, which I learned is
barotraumas and not altitude sickness? It’s
caused by the changes in air pressure.

8 comments:

I am glad that you posted this. I bet there are quite a few people out there that can commiserate with you. I always get headaches from the barometric pressure that changes so fast before a storm. Thanks for this post.http://enchantedfantasies.blogspot.com/

Hi there!I’m stopping by during the A to Z Challenge. I enjoyed stopping by and hope you get the chance to check out my blog sometime during this month. I’m a children’s book author and I’m reviewing different books. Good luck with the challenge!Take care,Donna L Martinwww.donnalmartin.comauthor THE STORY CATCHERcoauthor CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL: ANGELS AMONG

That sounds pretty miserable to me. I've only dealt with the usual adjustments of the ear to altitude--something I usually easily remedy with yawning or other similar contortions involving the mouth and head. It would be horrid to go through a few days with such an issue.

Hi, Sunni! I've had ear problems while flying only once, and I thought I'd die. We were landing, and it felt as though I had an ice pick sticking in my ear! I've had seven surgeries on the affected ear, but flying doesn't usually bother me. After that, I always feel sorry for babies who cry and scream while we're landing. I just know their ears are splitting but they can't tell anyone what's wrong. Love your blog!!